For the better part of a century, Spartan Stadium has been a cornerstone of San Jose State athletics and university life, hosting more than 300 home football games since 1933, as well as soccer games and concerts packed with more than 30,000 fans. Open during home football games, the Jeff Garcia Hall of Champions pays tribute to more than 300 former athletes and coaches, including pro football stars, golfers, and judo experts. Beyond the football team's keep, the other bastion of SJSU athletics, the Event Center, opened its doors in the late '80s to house men's and women's basketball contests as well as a weight room for students and a take-a-foam-finger, leave-a-foam-finger depository for fans. Spartan athletics maintains a high pedigree throughout their programs, including recent WAC championships for their men's and women's golf teams.

Whether working through in-season regimens or off-season training, baseball and softball players can perfect their swing within San Jose Batting Cages' batting cages and training facility, which stays open until 9 p.m. during the week. Instructors offer hitting and pitching lessons as well as team and group clinics to help athletes develop all aspects of their game.

Like a perfectly broken-in glove or a lucky bat, RD Academy stays with ballplayers for years and years. It also plays an important role in a ballplayer's development.
When Santa Clara University head baseball coach Dan O'Brien founded the academy, he didn't design it for just one age group, but instead as a resource that players can turn to from the moment they pick up a ball to the moment they have to pick out a college. The academy's youth camps, for instance, emphasize the game's fundamentals to kids aged 7–13. When the time comes to move up to the next level, the academy organizes high school showcases, where ballplayers can impress college coaches without hurling a fastball through their bedroom window, and then immediately repairing the window.

A charter member of the MLS, the San Jose Earthquakes played their first four seasons as the Clash before claiming the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003. Though the team moved to Houston in '05, the franchise was reinstated in '08, bringing professional soccer back to the Bay Area. Buck Shaw Stadium serves as the team's current home, though a new stadium will shoot skyward in 2014, complete with luxury suites for fans and exhausted referees alike.

The Stanford cardinal-and-white have a drenched palette of historic excellence, and this year's football team maintains that level of general awesomeness. Led by coaching mastermind Jim Harbaugh and Heisman trophy candidate Andrew Luck at quarterback, Stanford is currently ranked in the top 20 by the AP Poll, standing in prime position to challenge opponents for Pac-10 supremacy and beyond for a bowl bid. Strap on your helmet and second-favorite chinstrap to cheer on the fourth most electrifying offense in America as you bask in the sunny goal line section at beautiful Stanford Stadium. Join the Cardinal for their homecoming game against Washington State, a special time when former residents, alumni, and secret societies secretly return for a nostalgic weekend of gridiron goodness and campus-wide celebration.